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Friday, February 1, 2013

AudioSynced: January Roundup!

It's time for your monthly AudioSynced Roundup! If you're looking for your next great listen, look no further! Check out these posts and reviews of audiobooks from around the blogosphere in January. If I've missed your review, please leave me a link in comments and I'll add it to the roundup. Didn't get to an audiobook this month? Don't worry; Kelly will be hosting AudioSynced at STACKED again next month!Audiobook News and Posts
Well, the biggest news of them all: the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards have been announced!

The winner of the Odyssey Award for excellence in youth audiobooks is The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, read by Kate Rudd, produced by Brilliance Audio.
The Odyssey honors go to:

(I have to insert here that I recently found a great time to put your audiobook on: in the dentist's chair! But hopefully I won't have to utilize that method again for some time.)

Reviews:

Children's/Middle Grade:

Hard Gold by Avi, read by Alston Brown, reviewed by Lisa at Shelf-employed. Lisa says, "The diary style is well-suited for audio format."

The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver, read by Simon Vance, reviewed by Jen of A Book and a Latte. Jen says, "Fans of Jim Dale (narrator for the Harry Potter series) will really enjoy his [Simon Vance's] voice and style."

Young Adult:

Crash by Lisa McMann, read by Allyson Ryan, reviewed by Sarah of YA Love. Sarah says, "I chose to read Crash with my ears because reading it traditionally wasn’t holding my attention. I write this first because the audio swayed parts of my enjoyment of this book, but not all of it."

The Diviners by Libba Bray, read by January LaVoy, reviewed by Beth of A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust. Beth says, "I can't imagine anyone being a more perfect narrator for the audiobook of The Diviners than January LaVoy."

The Freedom Maze by Delia Sherman, read by Robin Miles, reviewed by Kimberly of STACKED. Kim says, "The narrator has a perfectly authentic Southern drawl and gives the white and the black characters accents without exaggeration."

The Freedom Maze was also reviewed by Lee at Reading with my ears. Lee says, "Miles is excellent here, managing a large cast of characters from two centuries and races."

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, read by Mandy Williams and Justine Eyre, reviewed by Lee of Reading with my ears. Lee says, "Mandy Williams... portrays Seraphina with a voice that reflects her prim, analytical nature with that of a girl who is just beginning to spread her wings."

The Silence of Murder by Dandi Daley Mackall, read by Emily Rankin, reviewed by Kimberly of STACKED. Kimberly calls it, "a leisurely-paced story that is narrated well."

What I've Been Reading

Our leadership team at the library is reading this book for a team book discussion early in the new year. Cy Wakeman has a lot of insightful and relevant things to say about leaders helping their employees deal with realities (instead of...

The other day I was browsing Netflix, wondering what to watch and thought I just might watch Cosmos over again. Listening to this audiobook was a good substitute. Tyson does what he sets out to do here: boils down his massive, technical ...

This thriller set in Southern Indiana and written by actress Krysten Ritter definitely kept me at the edge of my seat. Something's wrong in Abby Williams's hometown of Barrens, Indiana. Her ecological legal team has been brought in to in...

Grace Hopper made amazing contributions to the field of computer science that helped develop computers as we use them today. This would make a super family read, making the subject accessible to young children, if parents are interested ...